Quickfire goals down Trotters

Two quickfire second-half goals helped Newcastle claim their first win in seven matches and leave Bolton deep in relegation trouble.

Ben Arfa and Ba grab second-half goals to secure Newcastle win

Two quickfire second-half goals helped Newcastle claim their first Premier League win in seven matches and leave hosts Bolton deep in relegation trouble. Substitute Hatem ben Arfa fired the seventh-placed Magpies ahead with a superb volley from Ryan Taylor's left-wing cross. And top scorer Demba Ba added his 14th goal of a productive campaign by turning home Gabriel Obertan's cross just two minutes later. Bolton failed to stretch away keeper Tim Krul in a game lacking quality until Ben Arfa's intervention. Their best effort came from Martin Petrov's first-half free-kick which was turned around the post by Dutch star Krul. Defeat leaves Owen Coyle's men languishing in 19th place and three points adrift of safety.

Battle

The Magpies had taken only two points from their previous six games while Bolton's victory over Blackburn in midweek ended a run of five straight defeats, and in the first half it appeared very much a battle between two struggling sides. If fans were hoping for a Boxing Day treat they certainly did not get it in the first half as both sides struggled to string passes together. There were only two chances of note, one for either side, in almost identical circumstances. Newcastle dominated the early stages and in the 14th minute Taylor drew a good save from Jussi Jaaskelainen diving low to his left with a free-kick after Fabrice Muamba had fouled Yohan Cabaye 25 yards out. Bolton's confidence levels did not seem to have been improved by Tuesday's win but they gradually came into the match and were close to taking the lead six minutes before half-time. Cabaye was harshly penalised for a nudge on Nigel Reo-Coker just outside the box and Petrov's free-kick was heading for the bottom corner until Krul thrust out a hand. Leon Best had the final chance of the half when he was picked out by Taylor's corner but he could manage only a glancing header and guided the ball well wide.

Threat

Bolton's season was summed up by a sequence of play in the 55th minute. First Paul Robinson found David Ngog with a good ball down the left and Ivan Klasnic eventually picked up the striker's cross-shot only to trip himself up as he looked to get a shot away. At the other end, Jaaskelainen blocked an effort from Obertan before Newcastle made the first substitution of the afternoon, Ben Arfa coming on for Best. Bolton were certainly looking more of a threat going forward and Petrov lashed an effort just wide of the far post. But in the 69th minute they went behind as Newcastle at last put together a move of real quality, ending with Taylor crossing for Ben Arfa to crisply volley in only his second goal for the club and his first since September 2010, shortly before he suffered a broken leg against Manchester City. And two minutes later the game was all but over as poor defending from Robinson let in Obertan down the right and his cross was clipped in by Ba despite the best efforts of Gary Cahill. It was Ba's 14th goal of the season, and he almost added another moments later but this time Jaaskelainen was quickly off his line to block, Taylor then fired a free-kick well over the bar. Bolton boss Coyle threw on strikers Tuncay Sanli and Kevin Davies but it was already a lost cause and even a consolation was beyond the Trotters. Boos rang out at the final whistle, with the result meaning Bolton stay three points from safety and now only one point above bottom side Blackburn.

Bolton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Newcastle United
0	Goals	2
0	1st Half Goals	0
1	Shots on Target	5
3	Shots off Target	3
0	Blocked Shots	3
4	Corners	4
9	Fouls	12
4	Offsides	6
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
65.7	Passing Success	76.4
22	Tackles	19
63.6	Tackles Success	68.4
54.5	Possession	45.5
57.1	Territorial Advantage	42.9
373	Total Passes	314
19	Total Crosses	15